King Zero
by Raisalis
Summary: I knew too much, but Dresden didn't seem to care, for all she wanted was a friend. Thus I became King Zero, the Black King, and got thrown into a world that for me, was fictional.
1. Prologue

This is my first fanfiction that I'm actually posting. I've done some one shots here and there, but no actual stories. I have lots of ideas but no writing.

Thus I'm doing this to try get those ideas out there, because I know some others might enjoy them as well.

Welp, please enjoy! And do comment if you have any ideas. I like talking to people about creative things like this.

Also, don't know if I'm going to make this a romance. Do you think it should be?

* * *

There's one particular thing that no one knows, but it's perhaps one of the most impactful. Well, impactful for _me_ , at least. There'd be no story for me to tell without it. My life would be drastically different, and I'd be just like anyone else. One of the masses.

But I'm not.

And it's all thanks to Dresden. That slate which gives powers to humans and must be controlled lest everyone develop them, the slate that holds power beyond imagination…

* * *

"Hah…"

I sighed from my place on the roof of the Scepter 4 building. It just so happened that it had a nice view of the city – not my first choice, of course, since the huge tower the Dresden slate is held in obviously had the best view, but relatively nice. It overlooked the flashier and fancier part of Shizume City, and was perfect when I wanted to see all the lights that came on at night. Not too great for watching the sunset or sunrise though. The taller buildings were best for that.

But this place was nice enough, the few times when no guards were on the roof. Usually there was heavy security throughout the building, even on the rooftop, in case of intruders, but for now it was peaceful.

"Hey! You!"

Or not.

Thought there were no more guards, but oh well. I looked over at the man who had found me – just one of the common soldiers of Scepter 4, before slipping away into the shadows and disappearing.

The man just stood there, blinking and rubbing his eyes, before probably deciding he was hallucinating and going back to patrol.

* * *

The Dresden Slate is powerful, that's for sure.

It's also conscientious.

* * *

I wandered throughout the streets, disappointed that I had to leave the fascinating view of the lights. No one noticed me, despite the multiple gangs I passed as I navigated through some alleyways as a shortcut. If anything, they flinched back and became wary.

Who wouldn't if they saw a shadow flicker by in the corner of their eye?

The streets were pretty too. It was much different from watching the people and lights from above. I could get a much closer look at the people walking around, neon lights illuminating their expressions and actions. The lights illuminated me too, but no one noticed that either.

After all, the shadows can fight the light if they try.

They just need motivation and prompting. A controller.

* * *

It's a stone slab, but not one as well, for Dresden is a girl who just wants a friend to share her happiness with. So she dragged me to this world from my own.

Who am I?

I am Eve, King Zero, the Black King.

A girl who got pulled into a world she thought was fictional.

* * *

"Holy fuck! No no no no no no, I'M GOING TO DIE!" I screamed.

I was currently plummeting towards my impending doom from sky.

How had this happened? I was just sitting there in my room, watching the rest of my new favorite anime of the month, when a girl pops out of _nowhere_ , introduces herself as Dresden, then pulls me into the _black swirling portal that should not have been in my room_. Apparently that portal led to a random area in the sky, and now I'm _plummeting to my death in the city below_.

Why does this kind of shit happen to me?!

Suddenly, that same girl with her unnatural pink hair appeared next to me. I'd ask her who she is, but I'm too busy screaming for my life.

 _Approximately 1 minute till impact_ , my mind supplies.

Shut up, mind! You're not helping!

The girl somehow maneuvered in front of me, and yells out, "Hey! What's your name? We're going to be best friends, I just know it! I already told you my name, right? It's Dresden, in case you forgot. I think it's German. Well, then again, I _was_ found in Germany…"

THIS GIRL IS FUCKING CRAZY.

"Well, you going to tell me your name?" She continued. She just looked so curious and innocent, like she was unaware we had only a few seconds left until death.

Eh, why not. Not the worst thing to say before you die.

"My name… is Eve…" I manage, my lungs shot from all the screaming I did.

As soon as I said that I found myself standing on top of a building. It's incredibly disorienting, and I dropped to the ground, adrenaline pumping and in disbelief that _no,_ I was not dead. Pretty sure I would've puked if I could feel anything – my body was completely numb from the freezing air I felt due to free fall.

The girl walked up to me and held out her hand. "Well, Eve," she said, "it's nice to meet you. I hope we can have lots of fun together in the future!"

I just stared at her, wide-eyed.

I have to be insane. This had to be some sort of weird dream, right? But then again, everything around me was real, the cold felt _real_ , and when I took her hand, it was _warm and real_.

I had really just been dragged through a portal by a girl and fell from the sky.

"Welcome to my home, Shizume City! It's your home now, too. Come on, let's go explore!"

…I'm also in Japan apparently. That's awfully far from America.

I was too stunned to care about any of that at the moment, though.


	2. Chapter 1

**Alright, I do have a few things that I'd like to note for those reading this, so please do read!**

 **My goal with this story is to start being able to write consistently. Right now I'm not consistent _at all_ because I'm a very lazy person and get distracted very easily. Due to this, when I sit down and start typing, which isn't too often, I get through about a thousand words before moving on to something else.**

 **Because of this, updates will be rather... scattered. I want to at least get a chapter out every 1-2 weeks, though, and slowly bring up my word count per chapter. Anyone have any tips for not being so distracted?**

 **Also, on a happier note! Thank you so, so much to those who already followed and favorited after just one chapter! It's a real motivation kicker, and I'd love to hear what you guys liked about the story.**

 **Okay, time for Chapter 1! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 _I had really just been dragged through a portal by a girl and fell from the sky._

" _Welcome to my home, Shizume City! It's your home now, too. Come on, let's go explore!"_

… _I'm also in Japan apparently. That's awfully far from America._

 _I was too stunned to care about any of that at the moment, though._

* * *

Why was I too stunned?

Well, you would be too if suddenly the world went dark around you.

Gulping, I stared at Dresden, almost afraid of what I'd see if I dared to look up, but she just smiled gleefully at me before looking up herself. I sighed, closing my eyes and tilting my head up before opening them.

There was a _huge_ black sword – a Sword of Damocles. Right above _me._

…WHAT.

"Uh…wha…huh?" I murmured unintelligently. My first thought was that the sword itself was beautiful, and glittered in the sunrays that came down upon it, and was freaking _huge_. My second thought, however, was that this thing was indeed freaking huge, and would definitely attract the attention of any living thing in the entire city. Not exactly a good thing.

My third thought was, how is there a fictional thing floating above me?

"Do you like it? It's pretty, right? I know people say that black's not a color, but I think it's just as deserving to have its own powers," said Dresden, who took no note of how I was slowly panicking about the fact that this was not supposed to be real. She seemed to calm down a bit, smiling as she looked up at it. I noticed that she seemed almost wistful when she did, and I remembered something peculiar.

Her name is Dresden. The name of the thing in the anime I was obsessed with (and rewatching when she came out of the blue), K-Project, that gave powers to human was the Dresden Slate. The slate was found in Germany, and she said she was from Germany, then when I finally took her hand, a Sword of Damocles formed above me in a color that wasn't the color of one of the seven kings. We're in Shizume City.

…This girl just dragged me out of my own dimension and into this one! I'd call shenanigans if it weren't for the fact that all these observations just scream that she's a really powerful being that very likely _does_ have the power to do that!

I stayed silent for a bit, mulling over this newfound discovery. I came to terms with it surprisingly easy, perhaps because there was so much evidence to prove it. Looking back at Dresden again, I thought about how she must be lonely if she had to go to another dimension to get a friend. She was controlled by the Gold King, right? And later the Blue King, but he was put under far more stress while doing so. If so, then how did she manage to drag me here?

Gah, too many questions, so little answers.

"…Yeah, it's very pretty Dresden. I love it."

* * *

After that, she dragged me down through another portal which dropped us off on the ground, and the Sword of Damocles disappeared. Surprisingly, no one seemed to notice our entrance, despite appearing out of nowhere. Dresden didn't seem too concerned with it, though, as she just grabbed my hand and started walking.

"So!" she started, "I was thinking that we should go do something while we explore the city. What do you think?"

"Ah… I don't really know what there is to do around here," I replied. I was in unfamiliar territory, and I noticed as soon as we dropped down that everyone was speaking Japanese, a language that I _could not speak_. This caused my nervousness to come back, though not nearly as bad as it had beforehand. Thank goodness Dresden spoke English, or I'd have probably had a complete breakdown back there. Maybe she knew it because she had so much power and info about humans? Ah, whatever, it's how people say – don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Another sources of my nervousness was how people seemingly ignored us. I did not forget that Dresden had dragged me here during my "me" time, and therefore I was wearing casual clothes that I wouldn't normally wear in public. It was rather embarrassing, actually.

That's something that needed to be solved quickly. "Actually," I said, "I could use some new clothes. You ah, caught me at a bad time, Dresden."

She stopped to look at me for a moment, seeming to realize that I was wearing a hoodie with flannel pajama pants. "Oh! Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I just was so excited to finally have a chance to bring you here that I wasted no time getting you. Come on, let's go get you some awesome new clothes." With that, she grabbed my hand again, leading me straight to a clothes shop which we reached a few minutes later.

Long story short, I absolutely _adored_ the clothes there. There were lots of reds, blues, and blacks for me to choose from, and they all had this slight bit of fancy and what I can only describe as _epicness_ that made me feel like I was in an anime. Dresden dragged me over to a changing stall after I picked out what I wanted to try on, and approved of what I was wearing when I came out.

"How are we going to pay for this, Dresden?" I asked. These clothes had no price tags, but just looking around the store at the signs made me a bit nervous.

"Hm?" She replied, looking a bit confused, "What's 'to pay' mean?" After which she simply walked out of the store with me, with the clerk never talking to us once.

With all the other places we went in the city, we never once were spoken to. Dresden just stole our lunch from some fancy restaurant kitchen by waltzing in and out, and was never questioned or noticed. Heck, at one point I was curious and took a snack from an ice cream stand right in front of the man's face and wasn't questioned. I don't think the person even noticed me, to be honest.

It was really, _really_ weird. We were basically invisible to everyone but each other. Dresden didn't seem at all bothered by it, however. To be honest, it was probably a good thing too.

The area was literally _swarming_ with members of Scepter 4. They were probably attracted to us as soon as my Sword of Damocles appeared…

It was weird to think that that was apparently _my_ Sword of Damocles. Speaking of which, weren't there only seven kings? What does that make me?

"Hey, Dresden…" I asked, while we were sitting in a park eating the ice cream I had… borrowed… from the kind man working the ice cream stand, "what exactly did you do to me?"

"Eh? Oh, are you talking about the powers I gave you?" Dresden replied. She gave me powers, I already knew that much. "Well, I gave some more special powers because you're my best friend! But um, like any other new king, your powers are out of control since you have to learn to reign them in. It's a necessary evil since it helps kings learn the extent of their powers, and from there how to specially manipulate them for other things."

"So is that why no one's able to see us?" I continued, glancing at yet another blue that passed by, scanning the area for what I can now only assume to be me. They most likely wanted to assess the new king, since a new color hadn't been granted in ages. "My power… I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm the Black King because of my Sword of Damocles. So something related to the color black… shadow manipulation?" I guessed.

Dresden simply laughed, "Haha, yea I suppose so! Oh, to answer your question, yes, since your ability isn't under control yet you're hiding us with your power, rendering us invisible to everyone else. That's unbelievably strong already, imagine what you'll be able to do once you control it! Oh, I just can't wait to see that!" She got up and spun around a little bit, stopping after a bit once she got dizzy.

The Dresden Slate is kind of a ditz. It's… ironic, but then again, Dresden was probably euphoric to not be locked up in a tower at the moment.

"Dresden, one more question." I stated. "Which number king am I?"

She smiled at me from her place in front of me, doing a little curtsey as a bit of flair. "You are the Black King, King Zero. Zero because you are different from the other kings with your powers, and a wild card when it comes to the events that will happen in the near future. You have knowledge of this world, and know everything that's going to happen, making you an unforeseen variable that could change everything."

Her face got more serious as she continued, "You are from another world entirely, and think differently than many of the people here. I was lured to you not only because of this, but because of something deep inside you that called to me. It was like… you were needed. Oh dear, I don't have much time left! Please…"

My eyes widened as she dragged me up and started to disappear.

"Please show me what's so special about you, and find me when the time comes that you've learned all there is to learn, Eve. I'll keep an eye out for you, I'm strong even if my powers are limited by the Gold King. Let's keep in touch, okay?"

And with that she disappeared, and I was left alone.

Her voice sounded throughout my mind.

 _We're best friends after all, right? We'll get through this together, no matter the hardships._


	3. Chapter 2

**Oh dear, this took longer than 3 weeks for a measly 1.3k words. I'm so sorry... QQ**

 **I really have no excuse other than laziness. I mean, yes I had a crap ton of calculus tests and IB bio tests to worry about (friggin' 3 day calc tests make me sad), but other than that, I was playing a bunch of video games the rest of the time. It's finally winter break, though, and I swear that if I don't get out at least 5k words in the next two weeks you can yell at me! I have all the time in the world now, haha.**

 **Maybe I'll write a late Christmas chapter once I get a few more chapters in. I know for a fact I'll be doing a side fic with strain shenanigans and pranks, so if you have any silly things you'd like to see happen that are practically crack then tell me. 90% chance I'll write it since writing crack fics is fun.**

 **Enjoy! R &R if you want, I love hearing people's ideas and I may implement some in this story if I like it enough or get writer's block.**

* * *

" _Please show me what's so special about you, and find me when the time comes that you've learned all there is to learn, Eve. I'll keep an eye out for you, I'm strong even if my powers are limited by the Gold King. Let's keep in touch, okay?"_

 _And with that she disappeared, and I was left alone._

 _Her voice sounded throughout my mind._

We're best friends after all, right? We'll get through this together, no matter the hardships.

* * *

…What was I supposed to do now? She left me all alone in this place, no one can see me, and I have no clue how to speak Japanese or where I am in the city, or anything really. Where was I going to sleep? Food's not a problem, since I was invisible to everybody, but I'd like to start harnessing my powers so that I wasn't. I have no idea how to start that, though.

Sighing, I scratched my head, standing up from the bench and starting off in a random direction. Hopefully I'd figure out something to do in the next few hours with enough brainstorming.

As I glanced around, I saw that the blues had started dwindling, looking as if they were giving up and returning to their base. It was kind of odd to see them, with their uniforms standing out so much, but no one seemed to give them weird glances so I didn't think much on it. They all started heading one direction, and I debated on following them just to get a better idea of where things were, but ultimately decided not too in case my powers became a problem. I knew too little about how my power would react in different situations to risk going into Scepter 4, anyway.

With that I decided to start walking the opposite direction, mulling over everything I knew about this place and the people in it. Yes, the kings and their clans were incredibly important, but the first thing I needed to learn about was what year it was. Based off how Dresden said I would change the upcoming events with my knowledge, it was most definitely before the events of the anime, but just how long before?

I was thrown out of my thoughts by what felt like a shock running throughout my body. That spark made my eyes widen, and I felt this certain _tugging feeling_ that caused me to abruptly change direction and start running. I couldn't really control myself as I started running through the alleyways, with what could only be described as sirens and alarms ringing throughout my mind like a big red flag screaming "DANGER!"

It felt like I ran for hours, trying to get to this unknown location, but my more sensible conscience attributed it to the panicked state I was in. Also, that sane part of me was wondering where this sudden increase in stamina had come from. I wasn't exactly in the best of shape, after all, shouldn't I be getting tired by now?

Then everything seemed to come abruptly to a stop as the feelings dispersed and I found myself in front of some blues cornering a girl. Blues… cornering someone…

 _Cornering a strain._

An overwhelming feeling to protect the girl being targeted filled me, and before I could even tell what I was doing, I'd launched forward and grabbed the strain's hand. My body didn't do anything else, though, and I soon figured out why.

The blues who'd been getting ready to attack were staring at us weirdly, before one of them shouted, "Where did it go?!"

"I-I don't know! It was there one second, and now it's gone…"

"Dammit, what are we supposed to do now? It has to be using its powers, should we call in Captain?"

"Probably. That strain's been causing problems in this area for a while, we really need to capture it. I'll contact him, go get the others and tell them the situation."

"Alright, I'll be back Akiyama," the man stated, rushing off to report to the rest of Scepter 4. Before the blue left behind, Akiyama, could call who I could only believe to be the Blue King, I grabbed his PDA with my unoccupied hand and dragged the strain behind me as I walked away. He looked utterly stunned at having it disappear, before realizing the severity of the situation and cursing before running off to find his comrades.

After he left, I stopped, looking over at the strain who I'd saved. I hadn't really gotten a good look before, but now that I had the chance to, I was amazed by what I saw. She wore a dress filled with patches, with a cloak over it, but what stood out to me was the stitched mouth she bore and the different colored eyes which were wide in amazement.

How… what could have happened to make her like this?

I was inexplicably relieved, however, when I found no severe injuries on her. "Are you alright?" I asked, still not letting go of her hand for whatever reason.

Somehow, she managed to respond without opening her mouth much and tearing the stitches. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you… thank you so much for saving me," she responded, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Suddenly she frowned, "If I may ask, how did you do that? They acted like, like we had just disappeared or something."

"…I don't know either, but I'll think about that later," I said, "I've had a really weird, long day and I just want to get some sleep. You know anywhere I could stay? Wait a minute…" I suddenly realized something. "You can understand me?! Wait, I could understand _them_?! What the heck is going on?!" I exclaimed, realizing that suddenly, _everyone seemed to be speaking perfect English._

The strain didn't seem too affected, however, and replied, "Ah… that's one of my abilities as a strain…"

This girl was suddenly one of the most important people in this universe.

 _That's why I led you to her, ne? Told you I could still help. She needed a friend anyway._ Dresden's voice resounded throughout my mind.

"…Dresden?" I mumbled, wondering how I could have heard her before once again deciding not to question everything that was happening since it would be too much of a hassle to try and figure out.

Apparently the girl had heard me, however, and her own eyes widened once again. _There was an awful lot of that happening today_ , I thought sarcastically, but my attention was brought to the strain once again as she excitedly asked, "You know Dresden? Are you a strain too?"

"Eh?" I questioned. "Ah, it's kind of complicated. I'm not a strain, though."

The poor strain looked confused by the reply, saying, "How do you know her, then? As far as I'm aware, only strains should know Dresden and refer to her as such. She's the one who creates us, after all, and all strains know about her since we meet her when we're given our powers, forcefully or at random."

 _Huh, that could be useful,_ I thought, pushing aside the uneasiness I felt when she winced while saying that they were forcefully given their powers. If they all know Dresden, then I could possibly use this to my advantage, especially if I plan on changing anything in the future. I'd need all the allies I could get, and if I could get _strains_ as my allies that would be incredibly useful due to their wide versatility in powers.

Hey, it was early in the path of change, but there was no harm in starting so soon. It could only bring good, after all, to be well prepared for anything.

"How should I even start explaining this…"


	4. Chapter 3

**Don't even worry, I keep my word.**

 **...Totally. Whoops. Ehehehe... plzdontkillmethanks.**

* * *

 _The poor strain looked confused by the reply, saying, "How do you know her, then? As far as I'm aware, only strains should know Dresden and refer to her as such. She's the one who creates us, after all, and all strains know about her since we meet her when we're given our powers, forcefully or at random."_

Huh, that could be useful _, I thought, pushing aside the uneasiness I felt when she winced while saying that they were forcefully given their powers. If they all know Dresden, then I could possibly use this to my advantage, especially if I plan on changing anything in the future. I'd need all the allies I could get, and if I could get strains as my allies that would be incredibly useful due to their wide versatility in powers._

 _Hey, it was early in the path of change, but there was no harm in starting so soon. It could only bring good, after all, to be well prepared for anything._

" _How should I even start explaining this…"_

* * *

The strain's name was Kaishi. She insisted on not telling me her last name since I didn't use mine, just so I wouldn't be the only one doing that sort of thing (which was rather sweet of her).

Her powers allowed her to understand any and all languages, and pass that on to others. Anyone who touched her would understand them as well, at least until they released their hold. However, she could create a little pocket, per say, wherein anyone in the area would be able to understand each other, no matter the language, with a max range of the size of a floor of a small building.

When I told her about what had happened to me (albeit leaving out that I was from another world or dimension entirely) she seemed to be in awe once again, before suddenly proclaiming that she'd help me in any way she could, since any friend of Dresden's was a friend of hers. Well, that and she wanted to return the favor for rescuing her from the blues, who had indeed returned at one point to scout out the scene. We quickly left once we saw them, walking right past the wall of people that seemed to surround the alley's exits out of nowhere.

"What are we going to do now?" Kaishi questioned quietly, her stitches stretching a little as she tried to make herself heard. I still wondered how that happened, and why she didn't take them out.

"Well, finding a place to sleep is high on the list," I stated, before sighing and looking down at the ground. "But I think something else is a bit higher."

"What's that?" She asked, coming to a stop when I did since I had to continue holding her hand for her to see me. Earlier we'd tested to see if I could extend my power out to her without doing so, but I still couldn't control it, so direct contact was necessary for her to see me.

"Finding a king to help me control my power. I need to get this under control before something bad happens," I said, knowing full well that the longer I let this go on, the greater the risk of the shadows doing more than just hide me. It was rather frightening to think that I didn't know the full extent of my own powers, and in fact barely knew a small fraction about them from what they'd done so far.

Kaishi looked a little startled by this, and looked ready to argue against it before seemingly coming to a realization and calming down. She replied, "Well, you know your options, but um… you've probably already guessed that none of them are ideal. The Gold King and Blue King would probably detain you and lecture you until your ears bleed, the Silver King is way up high in the sky, the Colorless King is dead and the Green King's location is unknown, though I doubt you'd want him to help since Jungle as a clan is rather chaotic. Ah, why don't we go to the Red King?"

I smiled at her, "Alright, I guess so. That seems to be the only viable option. He's probably got a few tricks anyway, since red aura is supposed to be the most destructive and difficult to control." I frowned a bit before realizing that I had no idea how he'd react to another king being on his turf (I could only assume _violently_ ), but it was still the best and most likely _only_ option, so I'd deal with that when the time comes.

Her face brightened a bit before adding, "That, and bar HOMRA is a safe spot!"

"Safe spot?"

"Ah, strains know it as a safe spot since the Red King helped one of our own. Since he did that, no one really bothers him except the really rowdy strains since we all appreciate what he's done for her. Therefore, it's a safe spot since we know we'll be accepted there." She explained.

Ah. She was talking about Anna. Did strains have a widespread information network or something? It sure seemed like the majority of strains looked out for each other, if the way Kaishi spoke gave any indication.

"Alright then," I said, "I'm assuming you know how to get to where they are then, if the bar is a safe place for strains. Lead the way, Kai!"

"Ah... Kai?" She muttered, blushing a little.

I looked at her sheepishly, "Oh, I have a habit of giving my friends nicknames. If you don't mind, of course. It's just that Kai is a bit easier than saying your whole name, haha!"

That and it sounded a bit more like a normal name for me, being from America and all. Japanese names were going to take some getting used to...

She smiled back at me, "It's fine, I just have never had a nickname before. Kai does roll off the tongue a bit easier, doesn't it?"

And so we set off towards bar HOMRA, laughing and talking a bit more on the way there. As we got closer though, this sort of pulling feeling began tugging at my insides, and without realizing it I'd started leading the way instead.

* * *

We stood outside the door to the bar, both of us fidgeting anxiously. The pulling feeling that had once felt like a spark now felt like a low burning flame, flaring inside my core. I looked over at Kai, and she smiled a bit hesitantly at me before we slowly opened the door.

It was laid out similar how I remembered it from the anime and manga. The sofa was pushed up against the wall next to the window, with that neat jukebox sitting beside it; a coffee table sat in front, and the bar was a bit farther back. The stairs to the second floor were to the right, and a small path to the kitchen and the back room was placed to the side. The entire area was a bit bigger than I expected, but I attributed that to the fact that this place _was_ a business, and would need more space to place more tables for customers.

There weren't any customers, luckily, since it was only the early afternoon, so no one but members of the clan would be here. Kusanagi was polishing a glass behind the counter, the Red King was sleeping on the couch, and Anna sat at the bar drinking what appeared to be orange juice. No one else seemed to be here, so I assumed they were all out doing whatever the members do during their free time.

When we opened the door, Kusanagi looked up, opening his mouth probably to tell whoever had entered that the bar didn't open till later, but it closed before a word could get out. He put down his glass, looking perplexed towards where we stood at the doorway.

Anna looked up curiously at him. "Kusanagi?"

He frowned, muttering, "I swore someone came in. The door opened..."

Oh, right. Invisibility. I was a bit distracted though, since right when I entered the building, that low burning flame felt like it had a lot of fuel added to it, and it was really hard to ignore as the feeling spread throughout my body.

A tug on my hand snapped me out of it, though, and realized I'd been staring at Mikoto, who'd woken up with a snap as soon as we set foot inside. He hadn't sat up yet, but the fact that his eyes had opened and were scanning the room made me realize that he might be able to sense me. Kai looked at me curiously, but I just shook my head and waved off my oddness. There were more important things to do, after all.

"How do you suggest we do this?" Kaishi asked glancing at the three others in the bar. How should we do this? Maybe it was a bad idea to just walk in...

Ah well, I'd have to deal with it now, especially with Mikoto already knowing that we were there somehow. Maybe it had something to do with sensing other Kings? It would definitely explain that burn I was feeling, making me wonder how he must sense my black aura.

I could think on that later, though. Looking back at Kai, I made up my mind and replied, "Okay, since you're my translator you're going to have to let go of my hand, explain to them the situation or at least enough of it to get the point across, and get one of them to agree to let me touch them so they can see me. An-The girl will probably be the most willing, since you're both strains." Whoops, going to have to watch what I say. I almost let it slip that I knew Anna's name when I wasn't supposed to.

It would be really bad if I let anything I knew out without meaning to. So many things could go wrong, and if the Green King got a hold of that particular information...

No, I couldn't let that happen.

Kai frowned a little, clearly unhappy with the idea, but nodded anyways. Reluctantly, she let go of my hand, and judging by the startled looks of the three others in the bar, was now visible to them.

I hoped this didn't end up being a disaster.


	5. Chapter 4

**Going to stop putting the previous chapter endings at the beginning of the next one now. If you need to remember what happened, just look at the previous chapter. Putting them here just adds extra words.**

 **Might make a South Park or Digimon fic so I have multiple projects. Writing more = more consistency = more chapters. Besides, I already technically have a chapter of the Digimon fic done, but I need to figure out where I was going with it – I have way more ideas for the South Park one, but none of them add up to the amount for this fic. Also, the digimon one would require _way_ more research, especially since it's based off the games Dusk and Dawn. I'd like it if y'all could tell me which one you'd rather see, if either of them at all.**

 **My laziness is an epic beast, I know. Feel free to skewer it all you want.**

 **Thanks to those who reviewed saying they loved the story, I'm glad you enjoy it!**

 **Let the hilarity ensue. Also, for anyone wondering, Kaishi means "start".**

* * *

They immediately went on the defensive, save for Anna, who just looked perplexed at the sudden appearance of someone out of nowhere. I realized I could understand their shouts of "Who the hell are you?!", until I came to the conclusion that Kai was using her ability to create a bubble of… translation? Understanding? Language?

Ah whatever. As long as I could understand them, and they could understand me, everything was fine.

Poor Kaishi was shaking in nervousness as she started stuttering out a response. I'd be shaking in my boots too if I had Mikoto's glare fixed on me and looking like he thirsts for blood. I shivered just looking at it.

"Ah… I… I… I come i-in peace…" Kaishi said as loud as she could, which was more of a mumble than anything, but the others managed to hear and back off a bit when she started looking like she was going to cry.

I felt like a total asshole for putting her through this. I'd have to do something to make up for it later.

Suddenly, Kusanagi smiled guiltily, looking a little more understanding and walking out from around the bar table to stand in front of Kai, doing his best to not be intimidating despite his earlier actions.

Anna spoke quietly for the benefit of the two men in the room, "She's a strain," before holding up one of her marbles to look through. She frowned, seemingly confused by what she saw before her eyes widened and she held a hand up to her mouth- _oh._

Mind reading. Forgot about that… Wow, that'll actually make everything a lot easier, since she'll already know what we came her for and the others will listen to her and take it as the truth. I knew this since she was looking _right at me_. Yay for strains!

That does bring up another good point, though. Anna's a strain, and Kaishi said all strains knew Dresden, so that meant Anna knows about her as well. I'd already told Kai that Dresden was my apparent best friend, and if Anna just searched through and found those conversations we had, then I've got a pretty good chance of recruiting her for any help I might need in the future.

Her abilities to find others and read minds would be incredibly useful, especially if I could get some more detailed maps for her to use with her marbles. Keeping track of different people and groups would become a breeze…

Anna suddenly stood up and walked over to where I was, her eyes never leaving my spot. She held up her hand as if expecting me to shake it, to prove I was there.

I took it, and Kusanagi promptly freaked out and _screeched like a girl_. It was pretty hilarious, to be honest. You'd have thought someone just dented his precious bar or broke one of his glasses. Mikoto immediately sat up, staring at the spot where Anna was, looking rather alarmed and confused.

I bent down to Anna's level, smiling warmly at her, "Hello, dear. I'm Eve, it's nice to meet you."

She smiled back, now holding my hand with both of hers, "Hello. I'm Anna, it's nice to meet you too." Her eyes practically sparkled when she asked, "Do you really know Dresden?"

"Yup. I'm her best friend, apparently."

"…Apparently?"

"Long story. Well, then again, it's kind of a short story, but how about I tell you later. The Red King and his number two look like they're about to strangle poor Kai for answers on why you suddenly disappeared into thin air."

"Ok then," she replied, dragging me over to Mikoto, "grab his hand and then he'll be able to see both of us, right?"

Oh god she wants me to do _what_.

My face flared red, which didn't help at _all_ since I still was feeling that flame inside me from being close to the Red King in the first place. If I grabbed his hand, not only was it going to be incredibly _awkward_ , but that feeling would probably intensify into an _inferno_!

No, bad Anna. Stop giving me the puppy eyes. No please.

…Ah, screw everything, she's just too darn adorable.

Reluctantly, I grabbed Mikoto's hand, causing Kusanagi to cry out in surprise _again_. That was admittedly pretty funny, and I couldn't help the grin that grew on my face by watching his reaction.

Mikoto flinched, looking at me and Anna with carefully masked surprise. Luckily, that burning feeling calmed down instead of intensifying after I grabbed his hand, so I managed to compose myself a bit before smiling up at the man and introducing myself.

"Hi there, Red King. The name's Eve, I'm the brand new Black King and I kind of need a lot of help, in case you couldn't tell," I grinned, not quite as intimidated by how tall and… well… buff and muscly he was after seeing the emotions that passed through his eyes since walking in the bar door.

Anna grabbed onto Mikoto's other hand, and looking almost like she was _pouting_ at him. Adorable.

Slowly, he began to speak. "…So you're the reason why I felt like shadows were running throughout me. Black, huh. Makes sense." He frowned a bit when Anna tugged at his hand, looking disapprovingly at him. It was rather hilarious, to be honest, to see how influential she was.

He sighed, introducing himself, "I'm the Red King, Mikoto Suoh. You need help controlling your powers, don't you." It wasn't even a question at this point.

"Pretty much," I replied, "I'd prefer being able to be seen at will instead of being forever invisible. So will you help me?"

This time Anna gave him the puppy eyes. I swear she knows how to manipulate everyone without trying.

"Fine," he said, before letting go of me and Anna and walking over to Kusanagi to placate him. Anna and I walked over to Kai and I pat her on the back, while Anna walked over and hugged her.

"You did well, Kai, good job," I praised, patting the poor shaking girl on the back and shoulder a few more times for good measure.

"Everything's alright now, you're safe here," Anna said, releasing Kai from her bear hug.

…Safe? Oh, right, Anna probably got a good look into why Kai was running from the Blues in the first place. It'd probably be a while until I got that tidbit of information, which made me frown at the thought of Kai being in danger. She was my first friend here, after all, other than Dresden, and the girl had to have gone through a lot if those stitches on her mouth and the numerous patches on her outfit were any indication.

Anna turned to where I was and pointed at Kusanagi. "Go introduce yourself. Mikoto has already explained to him."

I nodded, even though she couldn't see it, and walked over, a little less embarrassed about grabbing his hand after having to grab the Red King's. His eyes lit up in surprise before his smiled down at me and ruffled my hair.

"The name's Izumo Kusanagi, nice to meet you, Black King," he said, pulling his hand away from my head before I could swat it. I pouted in response.

I sincerely hoped that ruffling my hair didn't become a regular thing. I mean, I was okay with it, but it was embarrassing! And I totally don't like it. Not at all. Nope.

…Okay, maybe a little, but that's even more reason to hope it didn't happen often. Too embarrassing.

I huffed and replied, "My name's Eve, feel free to call me that and not the Black King by the way. I feel like you're trying to be formal."

He raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with being formal?"

"I'm not exactly used to it. I'm American, we don't really treat each other formally like everyone does here. Speaking of which, can I call you by your first name because of that?" Sure, maybe that was a little forward, but I was going to die if I had to call everyone by their last names with add-on endings for formality, and Izumo seemed like the best one to ask since he was more laid back.

I swore his eyebrows couldn't get any higher. "American?" He asked, surprised by that information, "Interesting, and alright, I'll let you call me Izumo since you asked oh-so nicely. I actually know English and German myself, since I've been around other countries and learned them."

"Oh my god, you know English, thank the heavens and skies above!" I exclaimed, grinning full force now. "I don't actually know any Japanese so you get the honor of helping me, since I'll be around for a while."

Okay, I lied, his eyebrows did get higher. Somehow.

Izumo looked completely floored as his jaw hung open. "No way. But you're speaking perfect Japanese!"

"Maybe to you I am. To me, you're speaking perfect English," I replied, before pointing a thumb over where Kai and Anna were talking happily. "Kaishi over there is a strain who has the ability to understand any language. This passes on to anyone she touches, and she can spread her powers over an area about the size of the first floor of your bar here so anyone can understand each other within it."

"Oh. That makes more sense, now," he replied.

And then the door slammed open and suddenly one Misaki Yata was standing and staring in confusion at the complete mix-up of people in the room, with Saruhiko standing behind him looking bewildered as well.

…Well that helps a lot with knowing where I am in the timeline, I suppose.


	6. Chapter 5

Misaki and Saruhiko stared on from the entrance as the door closed shut behind them.

"Uh…" Misaki muttered from his spot, his face slowly growing redder by the second alongside his confusion, "W-who's the girl?"

I noticed him get even more flustered as he looked away from everyone, scratching the back of his head a bit. It was pretty cute, to be honest, as a first impression of the boy, but why was he getting so embarrassed?

Oh yeah. His embarrassment around females causes him to stutter over his words.

 _Oh ho ho, this'll be so, so much fun to work with._

I took the momentary pause to look closer at the duo. Misaki was wearing his classic outfit, with the baggy white shirt and shorts and a green jacket tied around his waist. His beanie was gone though, and his skateboard hung limply from his arm, slipping a bit as he fidgeted. Saruhiko wore his pre-Scepter 4 outfit, with a necklace hung around his neck and his hair not nearly as wild as it would be in the future.

Saruhiko's hair looked so freaking soft. Like, if it looks like this right now, I just have to wonder what it'll be like in the future. How did he even get that hair style to work anyway? I swear, if he ever switches hairstyles and there's no trace of gel I'm calling bullshit.

Now that I think about it, Misaki's hair looks pretty soft as well…

And Anna's…

Okay, enough fawning over hair, I can do that later. Focus on the conversation, not the realization that people around me look nice.

Anna explained, "She's a strain. Her name is Kaishi, she'll be staying with us for a while." At this, Kaishi looked up shyly from where she was kneeling on the floor next to Anna, smiling as wide as the stitches would allow and giving the two boys a small wave.

I saw their eyes widen slightly when they saw her face, but they didn't comment on it. Then again, they probably realized by now that she's not a natural strain so there's really no question to be had about it, other than why it was necessary or why she hadn't taken off the stitches yet. Misaki managed to compose himself a bit more at least to try and be friendlier.

"Nice to meet you, the name's Yata-"

Oh yeah, I forgot he doesn't like his first name because it's too girly.

 _Won't stop me from calling him Misaki the moment Saruhiko lets the name slip._

"-and this guy's Saruhiko Fushimi."

Saruhiko gave her a small smile (oh geez I'm going to have to get used to that fact as well, he never smiles later on) and said, "Nice to meet you, Kaishi."

Suddenly Misaki blinked and started looking around.

"Eh… hey guys?" he asked, "Where's Kusanagi-san? He should be here now, yeah?"

Oh shit, that's right.

Glancing upwards at him, I stuttered out, "S-sorry Izumo, I forgot…" Embarrassed, I quickly let go of his hand that I forgot I'd been holding, burying my face in my hands on instinct despite nobody being able to see me.

Ah geez, I really hope I get my powers under wrap sooner rather than later. This was going to be so embarrassing, having to hold everyone's hands if I wanted them to see or hear me.

It didn't help that I could hear Izumo snickering next to me, either.

Misaki and Saruhiko balked.

"K-Kusanagi-san? What the hell?!" Misaki shouted, pointing at Izumo in shock.

"Where did you come from…?" Saruhiko asked, staring wide-eyed at him as well.

 _Pfft-_

I couldn't hold in a small laugh at how comical they looked. Maybe I could mess with them a bit? I had to introduce myself eventually, anyways.

While they continued standing flabbergasted at Izumo's appearance (Izumo was laughing his ass off at their reactions currently), I made my way in front of Saruhiko first, figuring that Misaki's reaction was probably going to be the best so I should save it for last.

I swiftly grabbed his hand before I could lose my nerve.

" _Boo._ "

 _Have to give the boy credit, he didn't scream._

He still flinched away though, startled by my sudden appearance in front of him, "What the he-"

"Hey! I'm Eve, the new Black King. Nice to meet you," I said, smiling enthusiastically, "I will also be staying here for a while, so I hope we get along."

I honestly hope we do get along. Saruhiko is my _number one favorite character_ from K, and I'll be damned if I don't at least make friends with him. He's just so _cool_ , he can do all this stuff that I can only dream about. He's literally a professional hacker by the time he turns 19, and right now he's not the angsty person he becomes in the future.

Actually, now that I think about it, that's something I'll have to check on. His personality changes slowly over the course of his time in HOMRA due to increasingly lacking doses of Misaki, and depending on where we are in the timeline, he might already be a lost cause save for some decent damage control to lessen the severity of the change.

Still. All that can wait, what really matters right now is that _I'm holding his hand holy shit don't freak out_.

 _I'm freaking out._

"Black King? Wait, then you're the reason that Sword of Damocles appeared in the sky," he frowned, "and now you're staying here?"

"Yup," I replied, half paying attention to Misaki who seemed like he was slowly losing his mind after noticing that Saruhiko disappeared, "Mikoto was nice enough to grant me help in controlling my powers. Right now no one can see or hear me unless I hold their hands- Ah, sorry if it's awkward. Not much I can do about it right now, though."

His shock wore off pretty quickly, and he nodded in understanding, "Ah. It's nice to meet you, Eve."

"Quick question before I go freak out your friend over there more, can I call you by your first name? It's a personal preference, if you're not comfortable with it I understand." I asked, looking over to where Izumo was explaining to Misaki why Saruhiko had disappeared.

"I honestly don't care." He replied.

 _YES_

"Alright, see you in a bit Saruhiko," I said, letting go of his hand and walking over towards Misaki. He looked much calmer and not too surprised by Saruhiko's reappearance, even if it left him feeling a bit unsettled.

I grabbed his hand after getting as close to his face as possible.

" _Boo._ "

Misaki _screamed_ , pulling me with him when he fell back a few steps.

"DAMN IT, DUDE, WHAT THE- t-the… y-you're a girl?" he stuttered, gaping at me.

I burst out laughing. Holy shit, his reaction was _gold_.

"Yes, I am a female. The name's Eve, nice to meet you Yata," I said after composing myself, "I think we're going to get along _just fine_ , friend."

He continued to stand frozen, and I watched his face start to flush a bright red.

"Are you okay? Hello? Earth to Yata?" I asked, waving my free hand in front of his face.

"A-ah, yeah, I'm good, I'm good. Just… the h-hands are-"

"Oh. Sorry if it's awkward, but I can't talk to you otherwise. Don't worry though, when I get my abilities under control we won't need to hold hands for you to see me, okay? That's why I'm here in the first place, after all."

"Okay, n-nice to meet you Eve," he managed to squeak out.

I figured I'd gotten the reaction I'd sought out, so I stopped torturing the poor boy and let go of his hand. He practically ran to the couch to sit next to Saruhiko, embarrassed beyond words at the moment.

Izumo conjured up glasses of soda and water by the time I'd finished talking to Misaki, and everyone was gathered around the sofa and coffee table. He came around the bar with a pen and paper in hand after passing around the drinks, and he put them next to him as he sat on a barstool.

"Eve," he started, "Here, use this to talk to us for now. It's going to be a pain if you have to go around making people disappear every time you want to say something."

Oh, that's actually really smart. I hadn't thought about that, thank goodness for Izumo.

 _I'm not doomed to holding hands with everyone all the time!_

Picking up the pen, I went to start writing when I realized…

I can only write in English, and Kaishi's ability only affects spoken language.

 _Damn it._

Quickly, I wrote down ' _English?'_ and dropped the page in Izumo's lap.

He read it over, frowning a bit at the realization, "Oh, that's right. It's fine though, I can still translate for everyone, and it's better than having everyone flicker in and out of being seen. Don't worry about it."

 _Well, if he says so._

"Anyways, let's get on with the impromptu meeting," Izumo continued, placing the slip of paper on the bar behind him. He held up his glass of water, prompting everyone else to as well.

"Kaishi, Eve, welcome to HOMRA."

* * *

 **I got a laptop. I'm surprisingly more motivated to type stuff on it than at my regular computer.**

 **Also I started college last month. Yay…! Expect more chapters soon, I have a lot more time now than before and less distractions, coupled with more motivation. I'm sorry for the really long wait.**


End file.
